1966 US Army Vietnam War ARMOR ... - Survival Books

WWW.SURVIVALEBOOKS.COMto establish contact with higher, of subordinate units to counter terrain varialower,adjacent, or supporting head- tions and enemy activity. For a detailed discusquartersand subordinate units to in- sion of formations in various types of operasuremutual understanding and unity tions, see FM 17-15, FM 17-30, FM 17-36, andof action. See paragraph 69m for FM 17-95.liaison officer's duties.51. Subordinates50. Control Through Organization for Com- a. For control, subordinates must be responbatand Formationssive to the will of the commander. This meansa. The commander exercises control of his prompt reaction to orders or to changes in theunit through proper organization for combat. situation. Mobile warfare demands the utmostCombat, combat support, and combat service in commanders or other persons in responsiblesupport units are grouped to best accomplish positions. The flexibility of armor operationsthe mission. Organization for combat has twonecessary functions-it combines resources todepends on the mental flexibility of all soldiersin the operation.accomplish each part of the mission, and it b. To encourage this mental flexibility andprovides the means to insure adequate com- to foster the sense of teamwork that contribmandand control of these groupments by the utes to his control of the unit, the commandercommander. Organization for combat is dis- will keep his subordinates fully informed of hiscussed in paragraph 35.concept of the operation and the situation as itb. Formations used by the commander to aid develops.control of his units are based on an analysis of c. In turn, subordinates must keep the com-METT. He must insure that the formation se- mander informed. Control of the unit dependslected for an operation provides necessary con- on the timeliness and accuracy of informationtrol to facilitate maneuver and rapid shifting provided to the commander.21